New Trends in Home Staging

When the smell of cookies baking and a half dozen well-placed throw pillows just aren't enough to make it seem like home.

A company is now hiring fake families to inhabit properties during open houses.

"Model homes are wonderful and give you an idea about the potential a house has, but what's really missing is the soul," said Jim Garfield, of Roddan Paolucci Roddan, the property public relations firm behind the concept. "It's a theatrical, interactive, experiential show that allows visitors to see a home's heart."

Like Past Present, the actors must improvise their interactions with potential homebuyers, pre-armed with knowledge about the features of the house or its appliances.

I only wish we'd thought of it first.